


A Celebration

by Talyesin



Series: Aftermath on Finite Earths [11]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 15:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15439764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talyesin/pseuds/Talyesin





	A Celebration

Earth X  
Mount Rushmore

The sun was just setting, gold and crimson playing off the clouds. A more glorious Mid‑Western sunset they couldn't have ordered up themselves. It was perfect: the perfect time, the perfect sunset, for the wedding of the Ray and the Phantom Lady, right at twilight, the brilliance of the sun marrying the beauty of the night, the union of both.

Sandra was beautiful, as befitting a bride; only being Sandra she topped even herself in white silk and lace, more beautiful even than the sunset. Her bouquet was of little yellow and green flowers, the colours of her Phantom Lady costume.

As for Happy, he'd somehow found himself a bright golden yellow tuxedo – perfect for the Ray, the man of living light. He was brighter than the sun in it, and several guests had donned sunglasses jokingly when he'd landed at the ceremonial area, where the wedding would take place, high atop Lincoln's sombre face.

The ceremony itself was beautiful, too – heartfelt and honest, just like the Spirit of America himself. Uncle Sam had officiated at the couple's request.

"Dearly beloved, friends and neighbours, we are brought together today to witness and celebrate the union of our two friends, Langford - sorry Happy - and Sandra. Now, some folks might be thinking about the separation of Church and State and I'd be the first to agree with them. It's a little odd that I'm officiating and that's as may be – but the happy couple – sorry Happy – the joyful couple asked me to do this for them, and by God, I was touched. Touched, and honoured. Because these two joyful youngsters – well, none of us is all that young any more, but they'll always be youngsters to me – these two youngsters have been pure fool in love for decades now, and it's about time they got themselves hitched. So let's get to it."

The pair had recited the wedding vows, prompted by Uncle Sam, and Happy had happily kissed the bride, a kiss Sandra had returned wholeheartedly and even enthusiastically.

The only cloud over the ceremony had come when Uncle Sam had tried to announce "I now pronounce you husband and wife." A sudden pain had shot through him, right in the middle of the pronouncement, and he'd stumbled over the words. He'd covered it up with a smile and a trembling wipe of his hand across his eyes, pretending to wipe away tears, and then repeated himself in the strong voice they'd all come to know and expect. He didn't want to mar the ceremony or worry his teammates. As the couple walked through the throng of their guests – it was a smallish wedding, only a few dozen people – Uncle Sam sat down and fanned himself with his red and white striped top hat.

"You all right, Sam?" a voice down by Sam's ankle asked. The Spirit of America smiled and looked down at Midge Dane, the Doll Girl, dressed in her yellow bride's maids' dress. Doll Woman, now, Sam thought, remembering the young girl who had followed him here to this planet Earth, from their original home on Earth-Two, nearly sixty years before. The transition from one world to the next had granted all his followers extended youth – Sam himself hadn't aged in over two hundred years, not since the Revolutionary War, or at least that's what his dimmest, earliest memories told him – and for the most part the kids had enjoyed their extended youth. Of course, Midge had been just a young slip of a thing, only nineteen, a girl still, when she'd followed them all here, and spending the next sixty years give or take being denied the right to a quiet drink in a bar had become more than a little frustrating to poor Midge. While their youth had extended as a result of their transition from one universe to another, it hadn't halted the aging process completely, so now she at least looked in her early twenties.

"Don't you fret none, Midge," Sam smiled down at her, pushing himself to his feet. "Just a bit emotional, what with the festivities and all."

"You sure, Sam? You're looking a mite peaked," Midge said, jumping up into Sam's offered hand.

"Just feeling my years, there, Midge," Sam laughed. "Not so old I can't cut a rug, though."

"You'll save me a dance?" Midge laughed.

"So long as Darrell doesn't mind," Sam grinned. Darrell and Midge had been a couple for decades now.

Midge grinned and blushed, just like the schoolgirl she'd resembled for so long, and the pair entered the secret cavernous headquarters of the Freedom Fighters, where the party was in already full swing.

Uncle Sam let Midge down and headed over to the bar to find himself a drink. Alcohol had no effect on him, hadn't for ages, but he still appreciated the camaraderie of sharing a drink with his friends. And he didn't want to think about what that sudden shooting pain had meant. The last time he'd felt anything like that had been ten years before, when the Anti‑Monitor had set into motion his plan to destroy all the known universes. That pain had nearly killed Sam, brought him to his knees in agony, but he'd gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet. Actually, now that he was thinking about it despite not wanting to think about it, it was an awful lot like the sharp stab that had ripped through his heart in September of 1939, and again two years later in December of 1941. Not just America, then, but the whole world was in danger. Somehow, something had just happened somewhere that would bring about a disastrous event equal to the disaster of World War II.

Sam tossed back the Kentucky Bourbon he'd ordered and turned his back on the bar and the bleak thoughts both. This was a celebration – of life, of love, of friendship. Time to act like it.


End file.
